Clogged sparge

[Barwell999]

This is my second all grain batch and still clogged!!! The flow is random. Every time I open the spigot, I don't know whether it is going to flow or clog.

I'm using the Corona "Traditional Corn Mill" to crack my grain. Maybe I'm griding it into flour and that's what is clogging the system. It seems to either make flour or not crack the grain at all.
It doesn't look at all like when Midwest cracks my grains for me.

The only other variable that I can think of is the plastic, "Phil's 12" false bottom." The stainless steel option is on back order.

Any thoughts, I can't sleep.

Thanks

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Barwell999
This is my second all grain batch and still clogged!!! The flow is random. Every time I open the spigot, I don't know whether it is going to flow or clog.

I'm using the Corona "Traditional Corn Mill" to crack my grain. Maybe I'm griding it into flour and that's what is clogging the system. It seems to either make flour or not crack the grain at all.
It doesn't look at all like when Midwest cracks my grains for me.

The only other variable that I can think of is the plastic, "Phil's 12" false bottom." The stainless steel option is on back order.

Any thoughts, I can't sleep.

Thanks

I use the plastic Phil's phalse bottom and have never had a problem.

Your grist should be cracked not ground ie the grain husks should be intact and just split and the kernels should be broken into very small pieces. Sorry it's a little hard to describe. You should definitely be able to identify the husks.

[chris1kanobi]

Not too many people use the corona mill for that exact reason. You might want to try some grains cracked at the LHBS for your next batch and compare the results. You could also add some rice hulls into your next batch, to add some solid material into the grist. Once you have a stuck mash, there is not much you can do. I have even tried pouring all of the grain out into another cooler and filtering through a grain bag to get the mash to work. I would suspect that the grain is to finely crushed. Good luck next time. :D

[ray m]

I think Herr Kanobi is probably right. I, too, have a Phil's Lauter Tun system, Phalse Bottom & all, and it has worked tremendously for me. I got a stuck sparge once in about 7 or so all grain batches---I think it was because the mash had flaked wheat in it & I did not do something with the flaked wheat----it really clogged everything up. I think your grain is too finely ground. If you have the funds for a new & better grain mill, try a Philmill from Listermann's, or a marga mill (something like that), that some fellow brethren have been talking about recently. Or, just get it properly milled at the HBS.

[OldHooky]

I concur on the grain. That's probably most of your problem. A couple of things that I do to avoid a stuck sparge are: 1. use a paddle to hold the phalse bottom down(the plastic ones float a little) 2. check to make sure you don't have a couple of grains plugging the spigot by blowing into it and clearing it out. 3. slow down your flow so the grain doesn't compact and cut off the flow.

[Stumptown]

. . . of course, you could switch to batch sparging and never have a clogged sparge again! :D

[chris1kanobi]

How would batch sparging eliminate a stuck sparge? If you have bread dough in your mash tun, it's gunna be stuck regardless of your sparging tecnique. Explain please? :D

[Stumptown]

I guess you are right that it could happen if you have too much doughy stuff in there. But with batch sparging with a ss braided hose, I don't hear of a stuck sparge much. In fact, I don't know if I've ever heard of it. Maybe this is because if it did happen for some reason, you just take your spoon and stir the thing up and away you go again. You don't have the same issues with maintaining a compressed bed. And you have less time for a stuck sparge to develop. It takes me about 5 mintues to drain my mash tun while sparging. Pretty quick.

Still, crazy stuff happens.

[brewmonkey]

If you have a stuck sparge in addition to the above I would look at the rate of flow from the tun. To fast and you will set your bed. If you cannot get the crush of the grain to be anything other then fine, look into using rice or oat hulls. They are a lauter aid and work well. About .5 lbs should do the trick, just make sure you rinse them before you add them to the tun.

Another thing to look at for preventing a stuck sparge/lauter is to make sure you lay foundation water in the tun before you dough in. Foundation water should come to about 1-1.5" above the lauter plate (false bottom).

[chris1kanobi]

I agree, I use a SS braided hose in my 10 gallon cylindrical cooler and have never had any problems with stuck or slow runoff. I have done fly and batch sparging with it, and would have to agree that SS braid is good stuff. :D

[denver brewhoo]

I just had a frustrating but ultimately salvaged stuck sparge w/ a bazooka.... I'm thinking the grind is a little finer on the new mill at my LHBS, or maybe the weight of ten gallon batches is pressing down more than when i did 5s, and maybe I ran it off too fast, not watching the pump like I should have, and maybe I do need to drill out the crosses in my qds...I'm curious about the SS braided hose---I assume you drill a gazillion teeny holes in the SS braided hose? or cut slits like the copper manifolds I've seen here? Clue a brother in here, I'd like to try this.

I could see this working even better in the brew kettle where I lose nearly a half gallon every batch because of the height of the bulkhead placement...also, the whirlpool concentrates hop residue in the middle, so you could put in a tee and run braided hose to the edges of the kettle, resting on the bottom, and get every damn drop...

[chris1kanobi]

The stainless steel mesh screen is already perferated. Like this http://www.freewebs.com/homebrew/mashing.htm. I have tried in on my kettle, but pellet hops plug it up fast. You could use a diptube and a Chor-Boy copper scrubbie (local grocery store), that seems to work good. A bad crush can really make things doughy.:D

[toneyc]

I don't understand the purpose of foundation water, could someone expand on that for me?

:)
Toney.

[chris1kanobi]

I have never heard that term. I could only guess that it is water placed in your mash tun, prior to adding grain, to help prevent dough balls and dry spots. :D

[Fast_Eddy]

Foundation water is the water added to the lauter before grain is added. It helps prevent grain bed compaction onto the false bottom.